Flotsam and the Very Confusing Occurance
by thewordiscool
Summary: Flotsam goes to a party in hopes of seeing the boy of her dreams...only to find herself terribly, terribly confused... *zuko, jet, and katara influenced-characters*
1. Chapter 1

Shalom!

This is my...something-th piece for fanfic and is based loosely off of katura and zuko (any good fan should see the personalities), though i had to make katura a little more shy to make the plot work *rubs hand together*. Creative liscening's fun, isn't it?

So, please review (early christmas present, yes?) and share your insightful comments! Love ya and thanks for reading.

DIS: I don't own the characters...*sigh* If i did, i would be amazing.

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Flotsam hated parties.

She wasn't exactly clear on why she had come to this one, other than the small, obnoxious voice in the back of her mind that kept saying something about _him. _

_You know he's going to be here - Swatch is like his best friend. And you want to see him. You know it…_

But Flotsam wasn't so sure that she knew all this (and was rather frightened as to how the small voice knew these things). From the moment Swatch greeted her at the door and introduced her to a few of his "older" friends, Flotsam had begun to feel queasy and shy. Not that she wasn't normally shy. She was just more so.

So much so, in fact, that she gracefully left the circle of college boys (some of which were eyeing her in a manner that suggested alcohol-induced friendliness) and found a nice upholstered chair to curl up in.

She felt rather safe there, with her knees tucked under her chin, and allowed herself a peak around the room. No sign of him yet. She sighed.

_You know, there are other rooms in Swatch's house. He's probably in one of those. Why don't you just go look for him?_

_**And what?**_

Countered her terribly sensible no-nonsense conscience.

_**What do you plan to do when - and if - you find him? You two are friends, sure, but there are college girls here. Do you really think he's going to want to hang with little old you when there are "older" girls here? Ones, I might add, who happen to actually be pretty? What do you plan to do - **_

_Oh shut up. Stop being so negative. If you do find him, you'll just pretend to be looking for someone else, but decide that you have time to chat with him for a bit. Of course, you'll have to start the conversation…_

_**More like create the conversation. You know he's not going to notice you unless - **_

Flotsam was snapped out of her internal battle as a rather enthusiastic couple landed on top of her knees. She winced and thanked God that they were only hugging.

_Because getting sick in the middle of this sort of party is frowned upon. _

She unfolded her legs and slithered underneath them, looking around desperately for another place to hide.

_**See? You shouldn't have even come to this sort of party. You don't even know what to do with yourself. **_

_Look, you're fine - You'll see Ink, don't worry! _

Flotsam spied an empty chair across the room - though, this one was wooden and arm-less - defiantly not as good for curling up in as the other, but she decided that it was going to have to do. She picked her way past the glass coffee table that was littered with open chip bags and various pieces of candy corn and was almost to the chair when she felt an arm slip around her middle.

_**Told you. Told you twice.**_

She began to struggle a little, but the boy gently turned her around so that she was standing next to him. It was Ink.

"Ink! Wha-"

She began, but he only smiled and hugged her to his chest.

"Flotsam, I would like you to meet some of my friends. Carl, Bureau, Piper, this is my girlfriend Flotsam."

Flotsam had always prided herself for her ability to think clearly under stressful situations. Needless to say, this surpassed stressful.

"WHA-"

Flotsam began as her mind short-circuited, but quickly closed her mouth at the firm press of Ink's hand on her rib cage.

"Ah. So this is the infamous girlfriend."

The one Flotsam thought was called "Carl" cooed. She stared at his brown knitted hat and at all the dark brown curls that stuck out from underneath, until she felt Ink's chest heave with laughter.

"Ha-ha-ha! Yeah guys. Sorry I've kept her hidden all this time…"

He looked at Flotsam, who was staring confusedly up at him.

"Didn't want anyone to steal her, y'know?"

_WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!_

Flotsam's heart did a tiny flip-flop as Ink wrapped both arms around her and swept her into a terribly tight hug. She could hear his friends laughing a little.

"I hear you, man." Bureau chimed in. "Once, I took a babe to a party like this and the next thing you know-" _Snap_ "She's on the other end of the room sitting in the lap of some loser from junior college. I mean, whatever, man."

"Yeah. You got lucky. She's a babe alright." Piper confirmed, eyeing Flotsam in a way that made her press herself a little closer into Ink's chest.

Ink released her from his hug (She instantly felt a shiver of cold.) and gave Piper a warning look.

"Yes. She is…"

_**That's it. You drank something. The coke. You drank the coke. Told you it was drugged. You're probably lying on the floor in the middle of the living room hallucinating. And Ink's gonna walk past and see you and laugh…**_

As if to confirm her conscious state, Flotsam felt a word slip past her lips - a rather foolish word, when she stopped to think about it.

"Really?"

"Um. Yeah." Piper again. "Check out that figure…"

They were talking about her again like she wasn't there (Which was alright, given that Flotsam didn't even quite believe that she was there.).

"And her-"

"OK boys. That's good. Really." Ink interjected, pulling a protective arm around her shoulders. "C'mon. I want you to meet some of my other friends."

Flotsam could feel herself being pulled away, saw Piper's eyes (which were _not_ meeting hers), Bureau's sort of indifferent stare, and Carl's blatant scan of her backside. She concentrated very hard on being invisible, but, of course, when she most wanted to be, she wasn't.

Ink seemed to sense her discomfort and pulled her into a little side hallway.

"Look, I'm really, really sorry about all of this." He sighed, leaning against a taupe wall. "I didn't mean to take it this far or anything…"

Flotsam suddenly felt all her senses rushing back to her. It was a little too much, in fact.

"What's going on?!" She cried, angrily.

His expression changed from one of remorse and frustration to one of panic. He moved across the hall so that he was only inches from her. She backed up until her back pressed against an air conditioning vent. He moved forward again, effectively pinning her against the wall.

_**MOVE!**_

_WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?_

He moved his hand to the level of her stomach and reached towards her. Flotsam, naturally, jerked violently backwards and fell through the doorway Ink had just opened.

"Woa! You ok?" He asked, panicked even further.

"Sorry…" Flotsam muttered to the floor, quite embarrassed.

As Ink helped her off of the floor, he quietly shut the door. Her eyes flew open when she realized that they were now in an empty bedroom. Alone. With the door shut. She began to shake rather violently and steadied herself against the bureau.

"Look. I know you probably think that I'm crazy…" He started, apologetically.

All she could manage was a weak nod.

"But, see, a lot of guys here go to USC."

Flotsam was so confused that she forgot what she was doing and looked him in the eyes. They were green. Dark green.

"And I really, really want to go there - it's a fantastic school."

Still holding eye contact. And not shaking anymore.

"But I can't afford it. I'll need a scholarship and, to get a scholarship, I have to have at least three student references. And, well, I met these guys tonight and I just sort of…started talking. I dunno. I was trying to impress them, I guess."

Ink ran a hand through his hair and sunk down on the bed. Flotsam had never seen him look so helpless.

"And they were all talking about their girlfriends, so I started talking about mine…And then, all of a sudden, they wanted to meet her. And then there you were and I knew you'd understand and so I just sort of…"

Reality came crashing around her still ringing ears.

"You…used me?" She hated how helpless she sounded.

"NO! I mean, no. I don't think I'd call it that…"

Suddenly, he was in front of her, taking her hand gently in his.

"I really would love it if you'd be my girlfriend for the night. It'd mean a lot. Possibly a college scholarship…"

Flotsam couldn't help but laugh. "Oh. So, you're guilt-tripping me now?"

His smile lit the room. "Something like that, yes."

_**And you're ok with this…why?**_

_Because he needs help. Now shut up and hug him. _

And she did. Actually, Ink hugged Flotsam, but the result was still the same - a safe, comforting feeling that wrapped itself around them both and remained until the door was flung open.

"Oh. Hey. Sorry…" Slurred a red-headed college boy, arm slung around a giggling girl in a loose flapper-style dress.

_**Don't get sick. Don't get sick. **_

"Shall we?" Ink sighed as he let her go, offering his arm as a replacement.

Flotsam took it and put on the bravest face she had.

"Hey now. No need for that…I mean, I know I'm not the best guy you could have as a fake boyfriend, but really now. The brave face? That kind of hurts."

And Flotsam couldn't help but laugh.

________________________________________________________________________

It wasn't as eventful as Flotsam had feared. Mostly, Ink just led her around by the wrist and introduced her to various friends - apparently, he had been running his mouth off quite a lot before she entered the equation. Most of his friends were guys - most a little drunk and a little too happy to be of any use to him, Flotsam thought. But she kept her thoughts to herself.

_**You know that Ink's having a girlfriend isn't going to get him into a college. That's just stupid. You know what's really going on, don't you?**_

_No. You don't. No one but Ink knows what's going on. _

"So, how long have you two been dating?" A friendly (and mostly sober) college girl was asking her.

"Hm? Oh. Uh. I dunno. I wasn't really clear on when we stopped being friends and started…dating. Y'know? Sometimes it just sort of happens. Like, my friend-"

Ink's hand again. Pressing her shoulders into his side.

"Five months-ish." He concluded.

"Ah. That's hardcore. I wish Frame had been that hardcore. We dated for a month - not even a whole month - and then he just…dumped me. No reason at all. Just a text message…" She had begun to shake a little and Flotsam broke from Ink's arm to hug her.

"Thanks. Sorry. I know I'm totally over-reacting. I just…really thought we had something special…"

"It's ok. I know how you feel." Flotsam spoke in truth (for she guessed that being used by the guy she dreamed about and being perfectly content to do so was somewhat of a comparison).

"Aw. Aren't you two sweet?" cooed a voice (that sounded suspiciously like Carl's).

_Why does he always sneak up when you're hugging someone?_

_**Just…don't hug anyone anymore. **_

Flotsam let go of the sniffling girl and stood, staring at the floor.

"I said - _Aren't you two sweet?_" Carl repeated angrily. Clearly, he had been into the Coke as well.

"Um…Thanks?" Flotsam muttered, hoping he would go away. She didn't see Ink's feet on the floor and glanced up to find him, only to find herself very close to Carl, his breath coming down heavily on her face.

"So. What do you like to do for fun?" He grinned.

_WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?_

"Um. I like to…take pictures…"

_**Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid stupid. **_

"Oh. A photographer, eh? Do you have your camera with you right now?"

Someone backed into her and Flotsam stumbled into Carl.

"Wow. Friendly little thing, aren't you?"

"Uh…"

She looked around desperately for Ink. He had been pulled into a circle of girls, all of which were giggling and inching as close to him as they could get without seeming obvious.

_**Of course. When you actually need him, he's not there. Shows you how much he actually cares…**_

And, suddenly, Flotsam felt herself being pulled rather gruffly by the wrist towards a hallway. Panic overcoming all politeness, she tried to wrench her arm free, but to no avail. He had her around the middle now, and was pushing her through the throngs of people towards a door that looked suspiciously like the one Ink had led her to…

_**Kick him in the balls. Just do it and get it over with. 'Cause you really don't have another option here - **_

Carl had opened the door and was grinning like the drunken lunatic he was when Flotsam decided to take defensive action. She broke free of his arm and had started to dart down the hall when she was unexpectedly slammed into the wall next to the open doorway.

"Where are you going?" Carl growled.

_**You IDIOT**_.

Flotsam stared at her shoes and focused all her energy on stilling herself (for she was shaking rather violently). She felt Carl's breath on her face again and had just closed her eyes when she felt his body being wrenched away from her.

"What are you doing?!" Ink cried, holding a fistful of Carl's shirt collar.

"Just having a little fun with your friend here-" Carl twisted to smile ruefully at Flotsam.

"She's my girlfriend! And she's _not_ a toy! You can't just-"

"Oh shut up!" Carl slurred, his eyes glinting angrily.

"It's ok, Ink. Really. He didn't hurt me." Flotsam muttered very, very quietly.

"But he tried to. And that's enough-" Ink raised his fist menacingly.

"Carl is your friend." Flotsam continued, gathering strength. "A friend who goes to USC. Those are the sorts of friends you want to keep…"

Ink caught her message and sighed, reluctantly lowering his fist.

Cursing, Carl threw him against the wall. He headed towards Flotsam as if to make a point, but it was too late. Ink had punched him. In the mouth.

Flotsam didn't get to see all of the fight. In fact, she only saw the first blow for, after that, she was surrounded by squealing girls.

_**Told you it was the Coke**_…

When she could finally see again, the entire household had broken out into a deranged drunken mosh pit. Everyone was fighting or cursing or crying or screaming and Flotsam had to duck into the empty bedroom and curl up in a dusty corner just to feel remotely safe.

_Is Ink OK?!_

_**Sure he is. He's bigger than Carl, anyway…**_

_What exactly were they fighting about, again?_

_**Idiot - **_

_Is Ink drunk?_

_**I'm not sure…**_

She hugged her knees closer to her and nestled her head on top of them, breathing the warm air her tiny space provided. And then she heard the breaking of glass. And screaming. Lots of screaming. She stayed where she was - she didn't even bother looking up - her mind was spinning at such a rate that a few new noises didn't affect her that much. She heard the rustling of fabric and felt her wrists being grasped -

_**Curse this. **_

and jerked away violently, only to see Ink's deep green eyes staring frantically into hers.

"Are you ok?!" He asked.

She managed a weak nod, until her senses flooded her once again.

"Are _you _ok? What were you _doing_? Are you _crazy_? I'm not even your girlfriend, for peat's sake! What's _wrong _with you?! Are you-"

But Flotsam's (well-deserved) tirade was cut short by the snap of handcuffs and the stern scowl of a middle-aged police officer.

"Let's go." He barked as Flotsam passed out.

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What'd you think? Please review! *falls on bended knee* pleeeeease?!

*Now, on to the describing of the - spoiler - jail cell!*


	2. A Cell

Huzzah! A second chapter! Reviews would be lovely (ever so much thanks to my _only reviewer, _humanthesaurus - and a fantastic one at that :D )!

I've never actually...been in jail... just thought i'd throw that out there...

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The jail was much more pleasant than Flotsam had expected. In fact, it was rather nice for what it was. Flotsam's only problem was what it was. It was a jail. Or, to be more specific, it was a jail cell. And she was in it. Along with at least forty sweaty, drunken teenagers all yelling and trying to get towards the front of the crowd.

She sank down on the thinly sheeted bed and held her head in her hands. Her ears were still ringing from her loss of consciousness (all she could remember was a police officer and then this bed). She felt something heavy drape around her shoulders. Ink's arm.

"Are you ok?" He asked over the noise.

"Please stop asking that." She groaned. "It just reminds me that I've been hurt - or that I was almost hurt. Sort of a downer, don't you think?"

Ink smiled weakly. "Alright. Sorry…"

"No, no. It's fine." she muttered. "It's just…what happened, exactly?"

Ink blushed a little. "Well, Carl was being a jerk. And so I punched him. And he punched me back…and then there was a police officer patrolling the neighborhood and, when Tirade threw a shoe out the window, he sort of…came over to visit. And, uh, well, we're sort of under-aged. And there was, um, alcohol…"

Flotsam groaned and held her head in her hands. "Wonderful."

"Look, I'm really, really, _really_ sorry about all of this. I shouldn't have-"

"I shouldn't have come to the party in the first place."

Ink blinked. "Why did you come?"

_**Smooth like butter.**_

"Um…I was sort of bored…and I really didn't have anything else to do," she mumbled into the lumpy mattress.

"Ah."

Silence.

"So…" Ink began, but sighed as he realized that jail cell small talk was something that did not come easily to him.

Flotsam noticed with a twinge of joy that Ink's arm was still around her and took this moment to rest her head lightly on his shoulder. Her smile broadened when he didn't pull away.

_**It's just because your hair smells nice…**_

_What does that have to do with anything?!_

"Your hair smells nice," Ink commented suddenly.

"Erm. Thanks…"

"I'm trying to converse, here. Help me out."

"Oh. Sorry. Well, my shampoo is supposed to smell like oranges, so that's probably what - "

"No." _Sniff. _"Not oranges."

"Oh."

Silence.

Awkward silence.

Very, very awkward silence.

Cough.

"You, um, you handled yourself very well. With Carl, I mean…"

"Thanks."

"What…what were you planning to do, exactly?"

Flotsam thought for a moment and, remembering, relished the thought.

"I was going to kick him and run screaming."

"Somehow, I can't picture you screaming." she could hear his smile.

"Internal screaming."

"That wouldn't be terribly effective…"

"Hm…" Flotsam thought for a moment longer. "I wouldv'e run and found you." She immediately regretted saying it and blushed furiously.

_**Smack.**_

Ink gently propped her up against him and twisted her around so that she was facing him. She couldn't really muster the courage to look him in the eyes, though…

"If anything happens like that again - "

"Which it won't."

"But, if it does, I want you to find me. I want you to find me as fast as you can and stand behind me so that…"

"SHUT UP!" Carl shouted at a staggering Bureau.

"YOU SHUT UP!" Bureau shouted back, puffing himself to an impressive height and leering at Carl.

Flotsam couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Carl bellowed as he swung at his compadre, narrowly missing and hitting the jail's metal grate with full force.

Flotsam winced at the string of expletives and watched as a tense Ink stood.

Bureau swung a rather massive fist at Carl's sneering face and made contact, sending the willowy boy flying into the wall. Carl grinned manically and flung himself at Bureau.

Flotsam found herself pressed against the cold, cinder-block wall of the cell (She was so enthralled that she didn't noticed herself standing up and moving to this position). Shouts issued from the crowd around the dueling pair as others flung themselves into the fight. Someone smashed a glass bottle against the wall and the bottom shattered to the floor.

_**MOVE!**_

_WHERE?_

_**Oh…Poo.**_

The cell seemed to shrink and collapse around her as the fight grew. Flotsam clenched her teeth and shut her eyes, hoping to just pretend it was all some awesomely life-like movie. And it worked. Until the half-broken bottle was flung into her stomach.

_**Don't cry. Don't do it…**_

She wrapped her arms around her searing middle and poured all her powers of concentration into her tearing eyes.

"ARE YOU OK?!" Ink's voice cracked as he shouted. Flotsam couldn't tell if he was shouting out of panic or just to be heard over the noise.

"EVERYONE!" A much different voice rang through the shining prison bars. "BE QUIET! RIGHT _NOW_." And it worked rather nicely, as much as an air horn and a bull horn can work in the way of crowd control.

The officer stood from his metal folding chair, a rather severe look etched into his face, hands on crowd-control tools, and coughed politely (which Flotsam would've found amusing had she not been in great pain). "Now, if you would all be so kind, we would like for the other _inmates _to get some sleep. We've called your parents and they assured us that they will get you as soon as possible. So, in the meantime, _don't speak_."

"_Are you ok?_" Ink asked, the panic still in his voice. Flotsam noticed that his arms were wrapped around her in a sort of protective hug. She pulled away a bit and lifted her arms, gasping at the blood stain that spread across her white shirt.

"No. And stop asking me that," she tried to fend jovially, but swayed a bit and had to steady herself against Ink.

Ignoring the blood, Ink hugged Flotsam against him until she gasped out of pain.

"Sorry! Sorry. I…" And, suddenly, Flotsam felt her feet leave the ground.

_So confused. So very, very confused._

"Hey!" Ink fought his way to the front of the crowd and shouted to the guard. "HEY! We need help!"

"I said NO TALKING!" the guard retorted from behind his magazine.

"But she's bleeding!" Ink cried desperately.

"I'm fine. Really, it's not that bad…" Flotsam protested as she slid an arm over the red patch.

"How bad is it?" the aged man sighed, lumbering over to the grate. "Oh. My." he muttered and pulled his glasses onto the bridge of his nose.

Flotsam looked down, thinking she had covered her own wound, only to see Ink's shirt stained crimson.

_Shoot. _

_**Yeah. You're gonna pay for that shirt…**_

"C'mon." And the jail door slid open, only a little, only enough for Ink to carry Flotsam out the door.

"WHY DO THEY GET OUT? HUH? JUST 'CAUSE SHE'S BLEEDING? HUH?" came Carl's indignant response.

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much luck on exams!


	3. An Escape and a Capture

Gutentag! Third chapter and, at last, airbender stuff! Huzzah! (And much thanks for your patience with my exposition.).

Merry Christmas! May you spend it with someone you love.

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Flotsam was a daydreamer. And, as such, she had perfected this scene many times over in her mind.

It did _not_ include her bleeding all over the place. It did _not _include an old man waddling ahead of them. And it most certainly _did not_ include the whistles of the other inmates as Ink carried her past the endless cells.

"Hey, baby - "

"Shut up." Ink growled, pulling a half-conscious Flotsam even closer into his chest.

"Hm…?" she muttered sleepily.

_So…confused…_

"Nothing. We're going to get you fixed up is all."

"Oh…" She noticed with a distant ring of alarm that she now felt very warm and comfortable - cocooned, as it were, in Ink's arms - with the steady thump of feet beating a soothing rhythm on the gray tile floor.

"Now, try staying out of trouble for a while, alright?" the guard murmured and Flotsam thought she heard a low chuckle.

"Don't worry, Uncle." she could hear the words rumbling in Ink's chest and thought that they sounded rather hollow.

"Good."

"Thanks."

Had she been fully conscious, Flotsam would have been greatly confused by the clanging of the final checkpoint door on the wall and by the way they walked through it without event. She would've been even more confused as a nice, mustached man hurried from behind his desk to open the door for them. Instead, she merely sighed a little and thought how nice it was that she didn't have to do any of the actual walking.

________________________________________________________________________

"Hey. Are you awake?"

Flotsam marveled at this new angle from which she now viewed Ink and wondered how she came to view it. He was leaning over her, biting his lip, and she was on a soft and slightly damp something, clutching his shirt. Embarrassed, she let go and let her arm drape across her middle.

Oh. About that.

"What…"

_**So much for forming a coherent…**_

Her eyes fluttered shut again, only to pop open at the sound of ripping fabric. She watched as Ink tore another strip from his button-down shirt, placing it neatly on the ground next to her.

"What," she had to stop for a moment before finding her thought again "Are you doing?"

"Well, I'm _trying_ to make a bandage, but I think I'm failing miserably."

Flotsam propped herself up on her elbows and inspected his work.

"No, no. You're doing a nice job."

Finishing, he sat back on his heels and stared at the pile of fabric.

"Um…do you want - "

"Turn around." Flotsam suddenly felt very shy (She hadn't noticed until now that the feeling had vanished.). Ink smiled wanly and obeyed, scooting to face the nearest bush. He began to fiddle with the leaves. Flotsam, too dizzy to notice that they were outside, rolled her shirt up to expose the gash across her bottom ribs.

_**They forgot to mention this bit in all the distressed-damsel blabber…**_

She wound the fabric tightly around her, wincing a little as it pulled her skin, and secured it with a rather nifty knot. She breathed a little too deeply and winced at the pain, placing her hands over the wound as though it would help.

_I wish this would HEAL already! _

What happened next surprised and worried Flotsam (Though, she decided later, it was more worry than surprise.). As she sat, futilely wishing that her wound would simply heal itself, a strange blue glow began to waver about her hands. She gasped and held them out, concentration broken. The light still danced around her middle, apparently enough to reflect off the bush. Ink turned around and promptly fell over.

"WHAT?!"

"Sh."

"BUT - "

"SHHH!"

She replaced her hands, closed her eyes and concentrated on her wound. She found this rather difficult, given her current circumstances. (She was sitting in the wet grass outside of the jail that she had just escaped from with her shirt rolled up in front of the boy of her dreams while she tried her best to do something with this mysterious glowing that had decided to show up. She was a little too confused to freak out about the glowing thing, though.). After many long, deep breaths, she found that she could hear her heart beat and feel the blood coursing through her. A greatly confused Flotsam felt her skin join together and her veins seal themselves. Finishing, she peeked under her bandage and then teetered a little.

"Are you ok?" Ink asked, eyes still round and white, reaching up to steady her.

She gave him a look.

"Oh…" he thought for a moment and began again. "What just happened?"

It was only then that Flotsam realized that she had made a rather terrible mistake.

"I have no idea."

"You can _heal_ yourself?!"

"It appears that way," she didn't quite like the fact that the hand on her shoulder was now shaking.

"Can you heal other people?"

"I…don't really know. I've never tried…"

_This is a frighteningly logical conversation to be having with a boy who just found out you're…_

_**A freak?**_

…_special…_

"Please don't tell anyone," she suddenly found this very important.

"Oh!" Ink seemed to snap back from an unknown state of consciousness "Don't worry about it. Consider it forgotten."

She had to laugh at that. "Liar."

"Well, it's not exactly something you find out everyday."

"See? You're still talking about it."

"…The weather, I mean. Quite unusual for this time of year." he was grinning madly now; the worst of the shock must be over.

"You're a nut." she retorted, struggling to stand up.

"And that's why you love me!" he smirked, helping her to stand.

She found this sentence rather hard to respond to.

"Oh! What time do you have to be home?" Ink asked suddenly.

"I don't really have a curfew…" Flotsam blushed and rolled her shirt down over the bandage (which was now only covering healed skin - she just couldn't work up the courage to unbind it with Ink standing there and all).

"Really? Um, ok. We're gonna have to walk to Swatch's house, but I can give you a ride from there…"

Flotsam was quite impressed by his foresight and began to walk towards the dark brick house (which was, ironically, only a few houses down from the police station). She staggered a bit and grasped futilely at a bush. Ink appeared next to her, looping her arm over his shoulders.

"Can you make it?"

"That's code for 'Are you ok?' isn't it?"

"Maybe."

"Hm…."

They trekked across the damp lawns of Swatch's sleeping (thanks to the police department's intervention) neighbors. Flotsam sort of hoped no one could see them, for they were a rather comical pair, Ink with only half a shirt and Flotsam clutching her still aching middle and staggering like a drunkard every other step.

________________________________________________________________________

Flotsam had never considered herself as anything special. Like any good, insecure teenager, she thought she was untalented, rather plain-looking, and altogether useless to humanity. Ink made her feel otherwise.

"C'mon - We're almost there," he encouraged, slipping his arm around her waist.

"I'm fine now, I think. It doesn't hurt anymore," Flotsam assured him, though it was blatantly obvious that she was lying.

"Y'know, my life hasn't been that eventful until tonight."

"Mine neither."

The pair had just reached Swatch's pebbled driveway when they realized that the house was still lit.

"Hm. Maybe Swatch didn't get a chance to turn the lights off, eh?" Ink joked, heading for the front door. "I'll get them."

As he bounded up the brick steps, though, Flotsam heard a brief rustling in the bushes next to her and was suddenly jerked backwards.

"IN-mmmmmph!" she cried as a boy's hand was smacked over her mouth.

_**Would someone mind telling me what sort of alternate dimension I've entered? **_

She kicked at the darkness and managed to draw a curse from her captor. She felt an arm slip around her waist from behind and bit the hand that was still over her mouth.

"INK!"

Ink turned, leapt off of the porch and ran towards the struggling pair. In their thrashing, the boy's hood had come off and a stream of light from a lawn lamp briefly highlighted his eyes - only long enough for Ink to recognize him.

Flotsam thought that Ink looked rather silly, standing there waving his arms in front of him angrily, until a small flicker of fire appeared in one of his hands. The assailant saw it too and stopped moving. Had Flotsam been more alert, she would have found this the perfect time to escape. Unfortunately, all she found herself capable of was gawking.

"What - How - You…?"

Ink had frightened himself, it appeared, and had clamped his arms to his sides. His face was very pale.

The other boy grabbed both of Flotsam's wrists, wrenching them behind her, and began to run down the driveway.

_I hope Ink pulls himself together in time to help…_

_**This is real life, honey. People don't always pull it together in time. **_

_Real life? Is that what this is? Funny, doesn't seem like it…_

Flotsam had just managed to twist so that she could watch Ink, when she saw a bright ball of light swirling towards her. It veered wildly off to her right and zigzagged a bit before dissipating. Her captor had seen it too and let go of her wrists. She felt warm breath in her ear.

"Be careful, kid."

And he was gone. Just like that.

________________________________________________________________________

Hmmmmm...Who could it have been?!


End file.
